reflections on first green rough out

[Dan Cannon]

Howdy gang,
Just a couple thoughts after roughing out my first green/wet piece of wood (box elder) last night:

1 - It is amazing how well my new thompson bowl gouge cuts through the wood!! I've been using a small spindle gouge on a couple bowls (tsk tsk), and just got the 5/8" thompson gouge. This is the second piece I've turned with it, and the first green, and WOW, what a difference!! My only regret is waiting this long to get the right tool.

2 - Also, I'm impressed by those of you that turn green wood to final dimensions and finish it. Even with a sharp gouge and a light touch, I couldn't really approch a good (tear-out-free) surface. Is that typical for a beginner on green wood, or is it typical for box elder? Either way, that wasn't my intention, and I trust that once it dries, it will cut cleaner.

Either way, what a cool experience, almost therapeutic with the cutting, the warm ribbons and the fresh wood smell...I truly enjoyed it. Just thought I'd share...

Dan

[Keith E Byrd]

Having turned very few green pieces as of yet I completely agree with you - it is quite different than dry! Now the part I have to get down is the drying and final finishing! I turned a green pice of lilac saturday night into a simple candlestick - thpught I would DNA soak it "in the morning." Well, in the morning I picked up the candlestick and it was cracked in about 10 places beyond repair - My first lilac went in the trash!

[Dennis Ford]

I find that many of the softer woods cut a little cleaner when dry.

[John Hart]

...Either way, what a cool experience, almost therapeutic with the cutting, the warm ribbons and the fresh wood smell...I truly enjoyed it. Just thought I'd share...
Dan

Nice of you to iterate that really cool feeling of the "first time" :)
If you think box elder smells good....find a neighbor with a cherry tree and cut it down in the middle of the night and try that out. Cherry is the greatest.:)

Tearout?...yeah..what a bugger. Every wood is different...and the problem changes with grain orientation, speed, tool type, sharpness...you name it. Just kinda have to get a feel for it and fall in love with 80 grit.

Oh..by the way...It makes no sense to go through the grits if your 80 grit hasn't gotten rid of the tearout first.

[Tim Rinehart]

Hey Dan, if the tearout is on the outside...you can tame a good deal of it with practice using a shear scraping technique. There are alot of videos on net on this and if you have a club locally...there is likely someone there who can help demonstrate it. It's one of those things that makes you smack your forehead...it's not intuitive though, for most...self included. Took me a year before I realized about it.
Interiors are another matter...and I struggle too with some woods. A nice smooth push cut with razor sharp edges is best starting point...and as JH said...the 80 gouge is a friend...as is a nice bowl scraper.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dan - the really neat thing about turning green wood is that the fun is always there! Just roughed out a White Birch hollow form today and had a blast shooting super long curlies up and over my shoulder!

Like John mentioned - tear out can be caused by any number of things from tool presentation, sharpness, tool rest height, speed and even the wood! When roughing green wood - it is easy to start with a variety of different cuts and find what works! Still... turning green is fun!

Keith - Lilac cracks when you just think about cutting it - so your experience matches exactly what I have been through! Maybe fill the cracks with something - if they are not too large.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. Nothing better that curlies flying across the shop when cutting green wood. I would get Bill Grumbines "Turned Bowls Made Easy" as he show several shear cuts than make getting rid of tear out fairly easy.